Wasteland Travels
by SamuraiGirl88
Summary: When Sam, The Lone Wanderer travels to Vault 112 to scavange some tech she has to deal with some painful memories. But after an encounter with a Stranger and dealing with Deathclaws they embark on a journey that will change them both, but to what extent?
1. Enter The Deathclaw

A/N: Hello everyone! It's good to get back to writing after such a long absence and I do apologise for my lack of posting. As some of you might have guessed this is a repost of Wasteland Travels, where I have just cleaned up some errors, but I will continue to write more in the near future if time permits. Thanks again for all the support I have had and I hope you enjoy the coming chapters.

* * *

_"No soul is desolate, as long as there is a human being _

_for whom it can feel trust and reverence"_

T.S Eliot

* * *

Streaks of red and orange painted the sky, reaching far in to the distant hills of the capital wasteland. The surroundings were deceptively quiet, and the wanderer had learned long ago that to trust the wastes to the point where you needn't be concerned for your safety was dangerous, suicidal even. Rocks scattered as she trudged across the barren land, avoiding the giant puddles of irradiated water which were common along the western side of the forgotten capital.

Sam wiped her forehead clear of the dust that had settled there from her long travel, blonde hair pulled back in to her usual ponytail. Coming this far west hadn't been the first thing she had wanted to do. After cleaning out the Lincoln memorial, she had grown tired of the decrepit, stark buildings and wanted a change of scenery. After 2 days R+R in Megaton she decided to head out again to do something to stave off the boredom and stumbled upon the remains of 2 outcast members and their robot with a heavily damaged Mr Gutsy. She had taken it out and stashed the looted equipment in a nearby abandoned tent at an old abandoned military outpost. She was on her way to retrieve it, that asshole Casdin paid good caps for power armour, and the two laser rifles would fetch a good price in Rivet City.

After making sure she was rid of dust she turned to her short, four legged companion. "You ok buddy?"

He looked up at her, a lop-sided grin on his canine face as he panted. Bringing him along had been a good idea. After being stuck in her house for the better part of 2 weeks while she was away, he'd been happy to get out and follow her again. She leant down and patted him fondly on the head. "Don't worry we'll stop soon, we haven't had a break in a while. Might have to bunk down for the night somewhere, suns starting to go down and I don't want to be caught out here in the dark".

He licked her hand and she smiled, before resuming following her. She wiped her hand on her armour and readjusted her grip on her combat shotgun. Her favourite weapon was always a first choice as she skirted an old farmhouse teeming with raiders on the way here. Dogmeat had whimpered once but followed her faithfully all the same.

Although her reason for coming this way was concrete, she wasn't enthusiastic and for good reason. Smith Casey's Garage which was still a mile or so off. The garage itself held no ill memory, but what lay beneath it, Vault 112 was not somewhere she was prepared to go so soon.

She reached a verge, pulled out for her scoped .44 magnum and glassed the valley below her with her blue eyes. Apart from the bubbling of the puddles and a family of mole rats heading south, nothing indicated any immediate danger and she was content to take a break while light still hung in the air. After diving in to her pack she retrieved 2 bottles of purified water, a battered dog bowl, a box of sugar bombs and a roll of cloth with some smoked mole rat meat in it.

"Here you go boy, I packed your favourite." She tossed the meat to him and while he tore it in to eatable chunks she filled his bowl with some water.

Once satisfied she sat against a raised rock, rested her shotgun across her legs and drank deep from her own water. Normally Galaxy radio would be floating in the air to fill the silence, but things were content and Sam was unwilling to draw any unwanted attention to them. She had also been avoiding listening to Three Dog gush about her actions. Flattering as it was, when travelling she preferred to remain incognito. Plus, she hated being called '101' or the "Lone Wanderer".

"_I have a goddamn name already" she had told him on her last travel to the station. _

"_Relax kid. You're a legend out here! So what if we give you a nickname, it doesn't matter if you're a beacon of hope to all those cats out there. You're a hero and everyone knows about the great Lone Wanderer!" he replied, fixing her with a grin, as he sat in his chair next to the console as "Maybe" poured out to every corner of the wasteland with a radio nearby. _

She sighed and shoved a handful of sugar bombs in her mouth. _But sometimes I don't want to be a hero. I just want to stop being the "legend" or "last, best hope of humanity" and be just plain old Sam. _2 years out of the vault and she wanted to be an independent 21 year old. But as she knew, it was a very rare occurrence that you got what you wanted out in this broken land.

She sat thinking, watching Dogmeat finish his food and start scratching his ears_._ _I feel like two different people._

Emptying her bottle, she picked up their trash and packed it away in her equipment bag. Experience alone had taught her that leaving no evidence that you had ever existed was worthwhile enough to take note of. No evidence, no tracks, no unwanted followers. Talon Company were fond of tracking her wherever she went and even though she welcomed an opportunity to scav their armour, she didn't welcome wasting her ammo on their sorry asses. She had no sympathy for them and they had non for her. It was a mutual hatred. She put a hand on her stomach, glad for the break.

Hoisting her bag on to her shoulders, Dogmeat stood waiting for orders. "Let's go buddy."

He had not set on paw forward and when she looked, he was ridged, hackles raise and a snarl on his face, pointed towards the ridge. Sam immediately dropped to a crouch. Shotgun in hand she didn't move an inch, waiting for any sound of movement. Dogmeat was never wrong. Something was definitely there.

After a few minutes she heard something. Something metallic and loud was coming from the northwest. It wasn't slow enough to be a Robobrain or any type of robot she had even seen. It was fast, and as she wracked her brain the only thing that sprung to mind was a Vertibird, but the sound was too close to the ground to be one of those.

The object must have stopped quite close by because she didn't hear it rumble by, but it continued to shudder, possibly a few yards from where she was hiding. She grabbed Dogmeat by the scruff and pulled him next to her, pushing him in to a lying position yet he continued to growl quietly.

The sound of Boots hit the ground somewhere in front of her, but because of the risen rock she couldn't see anything _'Damn'_. The metallic object choked for a moment before going silent and whoever it was walking around. A lighter ignited and she began to smell smoke.

About 5 minutes later and whatever it was hadn't moved on. Dogmeat was squirming to get free and Sam was getting tired of waiting. The light was weaning and travelling in the dark in these parts was not wise at all. She was about to announce herself (she wasn't stupid enough to just stand up, perfect chance to have your head blown in 3 different directions) when she heard something that made her blood run cold. The shuddering rasp and quick thudding of claws along the ground.

Her eyes widened in horror. '_Deathclaws! Why the hell are they coming this far south? They usually stay north of here! Shit!'_

"Dogmeat stay." She whispered to the canine who whimpered in response trying to tug away from her. "Dogmeat. I said stay!' she hissed in his ear. His tail immediately dropped between his legs. Sam hated telling him off but for his own safety he had to stay hidden. A goddamn rocket launcher barely scratched a Deathclaw never mind a scruffy dog. She'd never forgive herself if something happened to him.

Whoever had stopped in front of her had just noticed the giant death sentence running towards them and gave a strangled yell. _So it's a guy' _Sam mused. She was torn from her observation by the explosion of gunfire from over the ridge bullets few over the rocks and thudded in to them. Ducking behind them for cover she checked her Combat Shotgun was loaded.

Peeking over the rock she saw a brown haired man no older then her stumbling backward. A few shots had landed in the chest of the Deathclaw but not enough to slow it down. She watched in horror as it brought its claw back in an arch. It swiped quickly and cleanly through the air. At the last second the man leapt back, but not enough. The Claws tore clean through his armour; the man stumbled back and collapsed clutching at the slashes on his left arm, crying out in pain.

Sam launched herself forward firing her Shotgun rapidly. It ripped a chunk out of the beasts' side. The ugly beast didn't seem to notice as it let out an ear piercing howl and turned on her.

'_Shit!'_

She rolled left as its foot stomped on where her head had been seconds before. She took off at a sprint south, dashing over the bubbling puddles. She wasn't thinking, not one coherent thought beyond the word _'Fuck!' _or _'shit!' _she looked behind her and yelped. The Deathclaw bared its teeth and screeched, covering way more ground then she was. She was desperate. She looked around willing god to give her something. Anything!

'_There!'_

A few yards ahead a dip in the rocks, a trench of some kind. _'It's my only shot' _she clawed at her emergency pack where she kept essential equipment. _'Come on!' _finally she grasped her fingers around a square object and wrenched it out. Punching the button in she dropped it behind her and fell unceremoniously in to the shallow trench, throwing her hands over her ears.

**BOOOOM!**

An earth shattering explosion rocked the trench dislodging large chunks of rocks one of which hit her just about the left eye. She collapsed on her back totally disorientated. The ringing in her ears made her deaf and the blood in her eyes obscured her vision. Waiting a few minutes, and breathing deep she pulled herself up and wiped her eyes, looking at the blood and grime now spotting on her arm. She looked up at the darkened sky regaining her breath, waiting for her mind to start making sense as she ambled up the side of her hiding place.

The Deathclaw's right arm and leg were missing, blown off in a shower of blood and bone, but it still dragged itself along the floor towards her. She didn't waste time in ending its suffering when she fired a cartridge in to its skull. _'That Bottle-cap mine was the best thousand caps I've ever spend_' she mused leaving the massive beast behind.

She vaguely remembered where she had run from and walked calmly, but attentively back to where she had left her dog and full equipment bag.

The light, which was disappearing in the horizon, forced her to turn her Pip-boy light on. She almost walked head on in to the remains of a motorcycle. But the Pip-boy reflected upon shiny metal, not rusted. The bike wasn't damaged beyond repair like the skeletal carcasses rusting up the roads of the wastes. It had a leather seat stitched with Brahmin skin. The rubber wheels were not punctured but looked almost new if a bit scuffed. The paint job was peeling and the engine looked scrapped together, literally from old metal. The Deathclaw had thrown it aside whilst chasing her and the engine was torn apart. On the side a tally was scratched numbering 11. She has no idea what it meant, but the bike must have been the noise she heard when the man... she froze.

_'aw. Fuck.'_


	2. Campfire Survival

A/N: Hello again! This the is newly edited version of Campfire Survival. Thereaosn I have edited the chapters is for two reasons. The first is that in my haste to upload them I didn't edit the sufficiently enough so they looked like the crappy draft copies. The second is that in terms of pacing I have to edit them slightly to fit in with future chapters, which are coming along nicely as I am working on the 4th chapter (which may be more enlightening and deal reveal more about Jed's character, how the Lone Wanderer is doing 2 years later and the beginning of their journey across the Wastes. In already planning a few encounters in future chapters with some familiar faces so bear with me for the next 2 weeks! **Unwelcome Memory** will be the next chapter title.

* * *

_To cherish what remains of the Earth, _

_to foster it's renewal, _

_is our only legitimite hope of survivial _

China Mieville

* * *

'_Hey, he's kinda cute'_

He had brown short hair with 5 o'clock shadow gracing his jaw line. He was slightly awake, shifting about and mumbling and she prayed he wouldn't go in to shock.

She shook her head to rid herself of such thoughts. Ok think. Priority number one. He was injured; she reached in to her small emergency bag for her medical supplies. His arm had been slashed as he tried to dive away from the swipe. It could have been more severe, A Deathclaw could rip a lung or two out if only the smallest claw on its hand. The wound was deep; the force may have broken his arm but she couldn't judge through his armour. _'Damn it, I can't handle something this serious out in the middle of nowhere!' _"Dogmeat here boy!" she whistled and he ambled over. She pulled out a med ex and administered in to the man. _'That should help him cope with the pain for a while.' _she hung the pack securely around the dogs neck.

"Look after him for me buddy". The dog seemed to understand as he inclined his head to look at her. Sam ran over to the verge she and the dog had rested against for what seemed like hours ago. Wiping the blood from the cut over her eye and the sweat from her brow, suddenly feeling exhausted _'shit I might have a concussion, gotta keep going'. _She thought, applying one of her last stimpaks. Satisfied that he wasn't going to bleed to death she felt his forehead, brushing away his bangs. He was feverish but at least he was resting, not mumbling and his pulse was ok but not great, a result of the adrenaline rush. They were exposed and that worried her. Darkness had fallen completely now and the stars were out, the only light coming from her pip-boy. With no shelter for another mile, a wounded stranger, a pack full of equipment and a suspected concussion they had to bunk down now.

"Dogmeat, go back to where we were ok?" the prayed he would understand and he seemed to when he yipped and ran off in the direction of their previous hiding place. Sam took a deep breath trying to relax. If she wasn't relaxed and calm when moving him she would cause herself harm and then they would be screwed. Gently grabbed under his right arm and hauled him awkwardly until he was semi standing but leaning heavily on her she began to coax him to walk with her. "Come on, keep moving, you're ok now I'll make sure of it". She really didn't know what to say. Who the hell was he? What was he doing is the so called 'Ass end of nowhere'?

He mumbled something every now and then, but it was almost totally incoherent and Sam still had ringing in her ears. When they reached the verge she had stopped out and sat him against the rock. Returning to her pack she produced a bed roll, well, her only bed roll. If she did have a concussion she couldn't sleep anyway at risk of not waking ever again, so she rolled it out and lifted the stranger on to it. She remembered him smoking so reached in to his pocket and retrieved the old rusted lighter, and began to build a fire. Turned away from the prevailing light direction of the wind it produced no smoke. _'Perfect' _

Dogmeat had sat watching all of this wagging his tail. Reaching in to her pack she pulled out the remains of a Salisbury steak and dropped it in front of him whilst filling his bowl again.

She returned to the bike and pulled the strangers own pack off it and retrieved his gun, a Chinese assault rifle. Dragging them back to the camp site and dumping it next to hers she finally collapsed against the rock, staring at the fire. Not even bothering to see to the cut on her forehead she started to calm her nerves. Shotgun again resting on her lap she waited. Tonight was going to be a long night.

Feeding the fire the next morning Sam drank from a bottle of Nuka Cola. Keeping awake had been harder then she thought and she'd exhausted her travel ration of the bottled drink to keep herself going. Dogmeat had slept sparingly and had been keeping her company for a while now. During the night she'd splintered the strangers arm with a medical brace and strapped it up for him. There was no trauma so she had no reason to believe he would suffer any long term damage except the three parallel scars which were forming over the knitting skin. He hadn't woken yet, but he would and she was starving so she was roasting some mirelurk over the roaring fire. She turned to her patient and studied him. He was taller then she and must have been around 6'ft. He was very well built, when she had removed the upper armour his muscles were pronounced. With his brown shaggy hair and stubble he was quite handsome. She began to think to the previous night.

'_Dad would be so proud of me' _she thought bitterly. _Seeing little Sam being the good Samaritan, showing her Papa how much a good doctor he'd taught her to be'._ She tried not to think like that but sometimes she couldn't help it.

She was torn from her thoughts rather violently when she heard a sound behind her. Raising the shotgun she was startled to find the stranger (she really needed to learn his name) trying to sit up, groaning and rubbing his neck with his good arm.

"H-hey! Ah... don't try to get up to quick. Don't strain yourself" she moved towards him when he whipped around to look at her. His arm jerked almost as if he was instinctively reaching for a gun "Shit!" he cried out grasping his arm in the sling. He cringed, breathing heavy. She offered him a drink of aqua pura (kept only for emergencies) and he took it, drinking graciously. When he was done he looked at her properly.

Sam felt uncomfortable with his gaze, but he didn't seem to mean any ill intent. She felt like she was being x-rayed by those hunter green eyes. If he was a raider he would have killed her, even if it meant the loss of his arm. He wasn't enclave and he didn't have a slaver tattoo. She hadn't looked in his pack despite the burning curiosity, so she still had no idea who he was, and the same went for him.

"Ah, hi" he began; he too seemed not to be sure where to start. "Thank you for helping me. I'm grateful, it's very rare I meet good people out here."

"How do you know I'm not a cannibal?" she blurted out without thinking _'shit, why the hell did I say that!"_

He saw the look on her face and smirked "if you were I'm pretty sure I'd be roasting on that fire by now".

Despite herself she smirked back as he held out his good hand to her. "The names Jed". His green eyes sparkled with humour, something quite neglected out in the wastes. Hesitantly she shook his hand and was surprised by the strength he had.

"Samantha, but call me Sam." She replied, thankful to have met someone that (she was fairly sure) wouldn't kill her this far away from civilisation. Isolation made travelling quite lonely and even though Dogmeat was with her, having no human contact tended to wear a girl out mentally.

"Well Sam, I just wanna say that I'm damn grateful for your help. I would have been a dead man without you." He scratched his rough chin with a smile, wincing as his bad arm shifted.

"Does it still hurt?" she asked reaching for her pack.

"A little but it's not a bother, its healing and the muscles are just sore;"

She nodded and remembered the Mirelurks on the fire, taking them off and spearing them on her knife. She took a bite and it was good. She asked him for his own and he reached for a strap on his leg and produced his which she did the same with and handed it back to him.

Jed sat and while he ate observed Sam closely. She was of a medium height, not to short but not tall either. She had light blonde hair pulled roughly back in a messy bun and astoundingly dark blue eyes. The hair that he presumed should hang in her face was held by a scruffy bandana. She wore a greatly cared for set of black combat armour, just like those assholes he had met a few days back, but it lacked that weird white symbol. On her back was a massive shotgun that had been oiled to perfection, but he could see that on stock the word "Terrible" had been carved. This girl obviously took good care of herself.

An awkward silence hung in the air as they both struggled to grasp something to talk about. "Err... nice shotgun, why's it called terrible though?" he ask grinning sheepishly.

"Oh this?" She pulled the weapon off her back and set it in her lap. The corners of her mouth turned up slightly "It was terrible for the guy I took it off, that's for sure."

"Sounds like you've been around a bit huh? You a native of this wonderful land? Gotta say it's good to be back."

"You could say that. Why are you?" she questioned genuinely intrigued.

"Wastelander born an' raised. I used to live in a little settlement, don't know if it's still around now. Nice place considerin' all the hell you see elsewhere. It was called Arefu."

She beamed, she knew Arefu well. One of the first jobs she had taken once out of the vault was to deliver a message from Lucy West. "Yeah it's still around; I was there a year or so ago delivering a message from this girl in Megaton to her family who live there" her smile faltered a bit. "I sorted some trouble out whilst I was there".

Jed was sat poking the fire with a stick using his good arm. He looked up and inclined his head. "No kidding? Small world ain' it?" he grinned at her and she couldn't help but grin back. His smile was infectious.

Dogmeat, who had been sat watching this exchange, whined to draw their attention. Sam waved her hand and he came over to her obediently.

"Well Sam, it's been nice seeing ya, but I better get back on the road." He tried to rise to his feet but stumbled and his good hand rose to his forehead. Sam immediately jumped up to help him. "What's wrong, are you dizzy?"

"Nah, I'm ok, just I don't think that med-x you gave me has worn off. I better get back to my bike- shit!" He turned around on his heel quickly but it put him further off balance. He stumbled backwards and luckily hit the large rock before he had a chance to fall. "Sam, where's my bike? Is it ok? That bastard overgrown lizard better hadn't of done anything to it or I swear-" He stopped abruptly and looked at her, something glimmering in his eyes. "Are you ok? Damn it didn't hurt you did it? I can't believe I'm stood here worrying about that piece of junk and the girl that saved my life fought of a fucking _Deathclaw!_

"Hey I'm fine! Seriously don't worry about it!" she threw her hands up and as if to make her a liar the cut above her head throbbed painfully.

Jed leaned back against the rock and closed his eyes all tension gone. "Thank God." He ran his hand through his shaggy brown hair and looked at her sheepishly.

"I pulled your pack and your gun off your bike and brought them here, but your bike was too heavy for me to lift so It's on the road, just over the ridge there." She pointed westward towards the decrepit road.

"Great." He scratched his scruffy jaw line again and grinned. "Lets go see the damage shall we?"

He rolled up the sleeping mat and handed it to her and once she shouldered her pack and covered over the burned out fire they had cooked on. Jed also went to grab his pack and winced as it brushed against his sling.

"You sure your ok" Sam asked, quirking an eyebrow, the cut throbbing once again in response.

"Yeah I'm just sore, trust me I've been worse, and left a lot of young ladies even worse, if ya know what I mean." He winked at her as they broached the ledge, Sam rolling her eyes at his immaturity.

"I bet you tell every stranger who has to save your ass from overgrown lizards, or are you going to go back and mention that to your lady friends?"

"Oooooh, sarcasm! Watch out guy this one's feisty!"

"You have no idea". She smirked back.


	3. Atomic Nightmare

A/N: I know i've been gone for ages and i'm really sorry. Work for University has had me busy as hell and while i've been reading FF it's been a while since i have written. I discovered the first part of this on my memory stick and have rewritten it. This chapter was also suppose to be split in to chapter 3 and 4 but I decided to keep it together as a way of saying sorry for being gone for so long. I hope anyone reading this enjoys it and can look forward to more chapters in the future.

Oh, the itallic part of this chapter is a dream/nightmare that Sam is having. just a heads up.

* * *

_"They said before that destruction is a form of creation. So the fact that they burn the money is ironic. They just want to see what happens when they tear the world apart. _

_Donnie Darko _

* * *

The sun had fully rise and hung in the pale blue sky as they broached the top of the small rocky hill, walking across the remaining yards of dusty earth to reach his bike. Once the sorry excuse for a vehicle was in view, Sam swore she saw Jed start tearing up.

"You're upset that this hunk of junk is broken?"

The rough brown haired man turned and looked at her as if she had started speaking like a super mutant.

"This isn't a hunk of junk! This beautiful machine has got me as far as New Vegas and back again! There ain't anything quite like it that I've seen on all my travels." He dumped his pack and gave the bike a once over.

Giving in the once over herself, Sam couldn't see exactly what the big deal was, she had seen her fair share of motorcycles and they were usually laying down in roads, almost exactly where they had fallen when the nukes rained down. Her blue eyes focused on the long, vertical scratches that adorned the right of the tank. She looked back at Jed who had lifted it up and pulled it to the side of the road. "I forgot to ask, but why is there a tally chart scratched on the side of it?"

Jed looked at her amused. "Why ain't we observant? The tally is because of this beauty right here". He walked over his equipment pack and pulled out something metallic. Once he held it up she saw what it was, a batter, but other wise undamaged metal baseball bat.

"Going 80 down a good road on that there bike and with one mighty swing this beauty can cave in a mutant skull like no one's business!"

Sam looked at him like he was the one speaking mutie now. "So you're telling me that you ride at 80 miles per hour on that scrap heap, wielding that thing" she pointed at the bat "Straight towards a super mutant? Are you _suicidal? _

"Like a mole rat at a Yao Guai party"

Sam shook her head incredulously and immediately swayed, her vision swimming. Dogmeat who had sat by her heel faithfully during the exchange whined at his master as she brought a hand up to her head and brushed the gash over her eye, feeling the wound reopen slightly as warm blood started dripping in to her eyes. She hissed in pain, for once since she met him not caring if Jed saw. Her ears began to ring again and colours seemed to blend together in her field of vision. He could her her own heartbeat thundering in her ears.

"Hey what's wrong?" Jed went to reach a hand up to her shoulder, but her dog growled and he flinched back. Sam took her hand away and tried to remain upright, but stumbled and fell to her knees; everything seemed to be turning sideways in a way she couldn't explain as she clutched her head, willing the pain away. _This is worse than a concussion, damn that rock must have done more damage than I thought._

"H-hey! Sam why you bleeding? wha- oh shit" He saw the blood stain that was seeping through the bandana the blonde had used to cover it up the bad gash above her eye.

"Stay with me Sam, err... shit what do I do? I'm no fucking good at this stuff. Sam its ok, just stay awake!"

"Can't... going to-"She slumped forward and the brunette caught her somewhat awkwardly, although she knocked against his broken arm he tried to keep her upright.

"Sam?"

"Garage... not far ... stay... road. Don't-"She stopped unable to form words her mind was struggling to comprehend. Finally she became numb, Jed's voice and Dogmeat's whimpering slipped in the ether of her unconsciousness as her mind finally rested.

_Darkness. Eternal and unyielding encapsulated her vision. The sheer nothingness that she awoke to was terrifying in itself as she struggled to comprehend what was happening to her._

_As Sam became more coherent, she tried to move and was vaguely aware that she was in a standing position and a solid metal floor was beneath her feet. The darkness dissipated to a degree, revealing colours in the edges of her vision. She was able to register the fact that she was underground and in some sort of laboratory. The various clicks and beeps alerting her to the different pieces of decrepit, but functional machinery._

_The clearer her vision got the more she seemed to recognise the place she was in. a large body of water surrounded a large dome like structure and the air was very humid, carrying the familiar smell of decay. A set of rusted steel steps rose in front of her and, felling compelled to, ascended them. The filthy reinforced glass that greeted her reflected her appearance. She looked tired, exhausted even. Her head throbbed painfully as she studied the bags under her eyes, her usually pale face had the tan of the harsh, wasteland sun surrounding her dulled blue eyes. A hand rose to touch her cheek and she flinched at the contact of her own touch. She stood for what felt like ages, just looking at her reflection and trying to grasp the fleeting thoughts that evaded her. _

_Beyond her reflection and the murky depths, the glass revealed that a figure was stood behind her and she turned to be met with the impossible._

_There he stood. A full head taller then her, she remembered how he would tuck her head under his and he would rest his chin on her almost white gold hair, trying to comfort her. When she was younger she would have nightmares, of faces she couldn't recognise, of someone crying in the distance and calling out for other who could not come. On these nights she would run to him, in his study in their quarters and tuck her head in the crook of his neck and he stroked her back. _

_He was well built but thin as she always remembered him being. She remembered always bugging him to join in the annual vault Soccer play-offs with the other Fathers. More times then others he would be to busy either with patients or paperwork, or be working with Jonas. However, on the rare occasion he agreed, He and Mr. Gomez would always play a great game and would treat her and Freddie to a sweet roll in the canteen, to the chagrin of Wally Mack as he stomped away with his own grumbling father._

_The familiar brown/grey hair and neat beard were still upon his features. When she had graduated from high school at the ceremony held on a crappy stage in the sports hall he had beamed with pride, unperturbed by the creases in the corner of his eyes or the bags under them, Sam walked up to him still cloaked in her blue Vault-Tec issued graduation outfit as he swung his arms around her in a tight embrace. He kissed her cheek and she laughed because his beard always tickled her cheek as he whispered how proud he was of her. Tears almost escaped his eyes as he told her how much her mother would have been proud of her, and she couldn't stop herself from shedding a few tears as she struggled to conjure her mothers face in her memory._

_All these thoughts crashed through her mind in a matter of seconds as she tried to find the will to speak._

"…_Dad?"_

_He smiled at her, the twinkle of his blue eyes matching her own. "Hello Sweetheart"_

_She couldn't believe it, he was here, alive and well right in front of her, the charming grin he always had on his aging features. She stood stunned, unable to grasp what was before her eyes. _

_James chuckled at the look on his daughters face. "Honey, I'd close your mouth before you start catching flies." Sam immediately grit her teeth, trying to stop a smile from breaking across her face._

"_Dad, what's going on? Why are we at project purity?" The glinting of the water upon the glass of the control room gave the room its ethereal glow as her voice echoed across the decrepit walls._

"_I came to see what you did honey, we all of us did"_

"_What do you mean all of us?"_

_James cast his eyes around the walls as the began to literally disintegrate around them, pieces of concrete seemed to fizzle of out existence, showing the inner workings of project purity to the outside world the pale blue sky shone down on them, illuminating all around. Standing facing towards the raised platform of the project control room were the hundreds of people she had met during her travels._

_She immediately recognised the population of Megaton as their eyes bore in to her, watching her every move. Gob and Nova, Moriarty, Confessor Cromwell and his followers, Moira and Jericho, Lucas Simms and his son, even Stockholm and Deputy Weld were there. _

_The Brotherhood including Elder Lyons and Sarah, the Pride, Rothschild and every other member stood in their power armour, silently surveying the glass enclosure in which Sam and James stood._

_Even the inhabitants of the vault where observing them. The Overseer watched her like a hawk, as did the all of the others._

_Every person Sam had ever known past and present, vault or wasteland surrounded them. She honestly couldn't believe she could see them all. They in turn watched her, unreadable expressions on their faces in an almost unemotional way. It unnerved her a bit as she turned to her father._

"_What's going on? Dad… I don't understand…" nothing made much sense to her, she felt sedated as her thoughts fought to be understood by her exhausted mind._

"_Don't worry sweetheart, everything is going to be O.K. There's just something that needs to be cleared up, that's all. It won't take long, I promise." James walked over to her and hugged her to him tightly. Tears sprung at her eyes and she hugged him back with as much strength as she could muster, burying her face in to his shoulder like she used to when she was just a little girl, trying to face the world without the comfort of her mother and with only her father to love._

_They remain like that for what felt like a few fleeting moments before he pulled away from her before James stood back patting her on the shoulder._

"_I'm so proud of you Sam, so proud."_

_He turned around and began walking towards the stairs that descended down to the ground level of the Rotunda but did not walk down them; he stood on the balcony near the door control panel before turning around to face her._

"_Dad… what's going on… what are you doing?"_

_James looked at her kindly, his own blue eyes twinkling as he looked at the young grown women that was his daughter, his own flesh and blood. " I told you honey, I'm just going to clear something up that's all"._

_Without warning his hand reached out and pushed the emergency door release, and the thick, clear glass door descended down. With a flash of horror Sam realized too late as she dashed to the door before she could run out. She smashed her hands flat against the glass, looking at her father and everyone else on the other side._

"_DAD! What are you doing, get me out of here! Let me out!"_

_Hi smile became saddened she looked at her, desperately trying with all her might to bang on the glass door. The sky above them began to swirl in a mix of black and grey clouds, light unable to break them open. _

_Sam tore her eyes away from her father and looked at everyone that seemed to have gathered around. They still stood watching and unmoving, not even reacting to the events that were happening right in front of them._

_In the distance behind them there was a terrifying rumble that built up in to a horrific crescendo, something parted the darkness of the sky and thundered towards the earth, all around them hundreds of these objects crashed towards the ground._

_There was a silence before a white, hot blinding light erupted in to her vision as she scrunched her eyes closed and threw her arm over her face. After what felt like eternity she opened her eyes._

_Mushroom clouds._

_Hundreds of them._

_In the distance the atomic hell fire raced towards them, travelling at tremendous speed. The white hot flames of radiation and heat descended closer and closer to the facility as Sam was stood trapped, completely helpless and terrified as tears raced down her cheeks as she continued to pound her hands against the glass._

"_DAD! PLEASE! HELP ME, DON'T LEAVE ME HERE, PLEASE GET ME OUT!"_

_James stood watching her silently his own tears travelling down his cheeks. _

"_I'm sorry honey, I'm so, so sorry…"_

_With one last look at his daughter, James turned away and looked at the wall of destruction heading towards them. As one, the people surrounding them turned to the atomic fire racing across the wasteland towards them. The glass had become hot and in only a few moments would vitrify in the terrifying heat of the bombs._

_Sam didn't care as she continued to pound against the barrier between her and her father as he began to walk away from her. She screamed for him, but all sound was lost in the horrific thundering of the destruction upon them._

"_DAD!" _


End file.
